Lamp shade

ABSTRACT

A lamp shade has fabric on the inside and outside but only uses two pieces of fabric instead of the conventional construction having four pieces of fabric. Lamp shades made in this manner have substantial savings in labor, pattern setting, and sewing of seams.

United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,745,322 Weisbrod July 10, 1973 [54] LAMP SHADE 2,622,190 12/1952 Sher.... 240/108 R 1,989,384 1/1935 Sher 240/108 R Inventor Alfred welsbmd, 1214 Valley 3,065,531 11/1962 Rosentha1.. 240/108 R x Road, vlllanova, 19085 2,900,865 8/1959 Mayon 240/108 R x p 1 Gottlieb R PP N04 154,569 Primary Examiner-.1oseph F. Peters, Jr.

Altorney--Seidel, Gonda & Goldhammer [52] U.S. Cl. 240/108 R, 26/55 R 1 51 1111. c1. FZlv 1/14 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 240/108; 29/448; A lamp shade has fabric on the inside and outside but 26/54, 55, 68, 69 only uses two pieces of fabric instead of the conventional construction having four pieces of fabric. Lamp [56] References Cited shades made in this manner have substantial savings in UNITED STATES PATENTS labor, pattern setting, and sewing of seams.

2,607,886 8/1952 Weltsch 240/108 R 3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures /8 kf fi 24 f; l I I IL 34 19 l 1 j I II 1/ II 1 a0 ,m 3/ o f 1i l Q /3x1 l I n 4 L33 1/1 11/ \1 L \L INVEN TOR ALFRED L. WE/SBROD ATTORNEYS Patented July 10, 1973 2 Sheets5heet 1 Patented July 10, 1973 2 Shets-Sheet z;

INVENTOR ALFRED L. \WEISBROD 8) saw,

ATTORNEYS LAMP SHADE This invention relates to a lamp shade. In a conventional lamp shade that has fabric on the inside and outside, it has been conventional for many years to make the same out of four different pieces of fabric sewn together across the top and the bottom and down the sides. Lamp shades constructed in the conventional manner have a total of six seams and require four cuts of fabric.

The lamp shade of the present invention utilizes only two cuts of fabric and only requires the sewing of three seams. Accordingly, the lamp shade of the present invention eliminates the sewing of a top seam as well as two side seams. Thus, the present invention has advantages over the prior art which is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 1,989,384.

In accordance with the present invention, two pieces of fabric are cut and sewn together by longitudinally extending side edge seams. If the frame to be utilized is frusto-conical, the stitching is accomplished in a manner so as to provide an end product in the form of a tube which is slightly constricted in its midportion. If desired, the thusly constructed tube may then be rendered wet by dipping the same in water. As the water dries out, a stretching effect will be attained on the fab- The thusly constructed tube is then inserted into a frame so that the upper ring of the frame is juxtaposed to the midportion of the tube. Thereafter, the tube is folded back on itself along the outer periphery of the frame. After stretching the two free ends of the tube which are now juxtaposed to one another, the inner and outer layers of the fabrics may be stitched to one another and/or to a fabric sleeve on the lower ring of the frame.

Selvage is trimmed off adjacent the last-mentioned stitching. A binding is applied to the lower periphery of the thusly constructed lamp shade. A spider for supporting the lampshade may be attached to the upper ring of the lamp shade, or to the lower ring of the lampshade or elsewhere. Thereafter, an upper binding may be applied to the upper periphery of the lamp shade.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lamp shade utilizing fabric arranged in a novel manner.

It is another object of the presentinvention to provide a novel lamp shade utilizing fabric while reducing the number of steps and reducing the labor costs involved.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a lamp shade frame which requires only three seams. t g

It is another object of the present invention to provide a fabric covered lamp shade in a manner which is simpler and less expensive than those heretofore, while at the same time having the appearance and aesthetic qualitiesof the more expensive lamp shades proposed heretofore.

Other objects .will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a lamp shade in ac cordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view ofa tube which is formed in accordance with a step in practicing the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a step of the present invention wherein the tube shown in FIG. 2 is inserted into a frame.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a subsequent step in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4 after the stitching operation.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the upper end of the lamp shade, during a subsequent step in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is'a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, there is shown in FIG. 1 a lamp shade in accordance with the present invention designated generally as 10. The lamp shade 10 for purposes of illustration is frusto-conical and includes a fab ric portion 12 applied to a frame. The lamp shade 10 is provided with a binding 14 at the upper edge and a binding 16 at the lower edge.

The fabric portion 12 includes inner and outer layers as will be made clear hereinafter. The first step in producing the fabric portion 12 is to cut two identical layers of fabric 18 and 20 of the same size. The layers of fabric 18 and 20 for purposes of illustration will be fine silk such as count material. Other types of fabrics may be utilized.

The layers of fabric 18 and 20 are formed into a tube by superimposing the layers and applying the stitching 22 and 24 along the side edges. If the frame to which the fabric material is to be applied is of a frusto-conical type, then the stitching 22 and 24 is applied in a manner so as to result in a constriction at the midpoint 26. The amount of the constriction corresponds to the taper on the frame.

If desired, the tube as shown in FIG. 2 may be dipped into water, sprayed with water, or otherwise caused to be made wet. During the remaining operations, the tube will dry out and result in a stretching of the layers of fabric 18 and 20. I

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be noted that the stitching 22 and 24 results in a seam which is close to butspaced from the side edges of the layers 18 and 20. This seam is on the outside of the layers. The tube in this form is then introduced into a frame. The frame is of metal and includes an upper ring 30, a lower ring 32 encased within a fabric sleeve 36, and interconnecting the ribs 31', 33, 34 and 37. The ribs are of metal and are secured to the respective upper and lower rings in any convenient manner. The securement of the ribs to the rings is preferably accomplished by spot welding. The ribs may be straight or slightly concave.

With the tube inserted into the frame as shown in FIG. 3, it will be noted that the constriction 26 is juxtaposed to the upper ring 30 on the frame. Thereafter, the tube is folded so that the portion above the ring 30 extends along the outer periphery of the frame. This folding is diagrammatically illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 3. As a result of this folding, the seams will be on the inside of the layers of fabric. Each of the layers 18 and 20 will extend along the inner and outer surfaces of the frame.

The next step is to stretch the juxtaposed end portions of the layers 18 and 20 by pulling them downwardly. In order to have sufficient material to grasp, the layers 18 and 20 initially, as shown in FIG. 2, had a length which is 1 to 2 inches longer than the height of the lamp shade measured along the periphery in an axial direction. At this point, the frame and tube will assume the position shown in FIG. 4. For purposes of illustration, the seams formed by the stitching 22 and 24 are slightly misplaced or offset with respect to the ribs. It is preferred that the seams be aligned with one of the ribs. The number of ribs is a matter of choice and can be four, six, or eight. Since there are only two seams in the lamp shade 10 of the present invention, the seams are preferably along a rib but are not so shown since it would obscure the illustration. The alignment of a rib with the seam is for aesthetic purposes. 1

The inner and outer portions of the layers 18 and are simultaneously grasped and stretched by pulling the same downwardly in FIG. 4 while stitching 38 is applied circumferentially. The apparatus necessary for applying stitching 38 is well known to those skilled in the art and the manner in which stitching 38 is applied is also well known to those skilled in the art as per US. Pat. No. 2,727,983. Alternatively, joining by bonding, such as adhesively or ultrasonically, may be used. It is to be 16 is attached to the lower periphery of the lamp shade by stitching 44.

If the lamp shade 10 is to be independently supported, it is now complete. As the inner and outer portions of the layers 18 and 20 dry, they will become stretched over the frame. If it is desired to provide a spider type support to the lamp shade 10, the following additional steps may be utilized.

A plurality of holes are punched through the inner and outer portions of the layers 18, 20 and the upper ring 30. For purposes of illustration, three such holes 46 are punched using-a conventional punching press. In FIG. 6, there is illustrated a spider support having legs 50, 51 and 52 extending radially outwardly, 120 apart, from an annular hub 54. Each of the legs 5052 is deformed adjacent the free end to provide a shoulder 56.

The shoulder 56, as illustrated, is obtained by bending the free end portion of the legs. The shoulder 56 acts as a limit stop and is positioned from the free end of each leg by a distance slightly more than the combined thickness of the upper ring and twice the thickness of the fabric. A similar shoulder type limit stop could be attained by flattening each of the legs 50-52.

The next step is to mushroom the short exposed portion at the free ends of each of the legs 50-52 to thereby provide a rivet-like head 58. A rivet setting tool is utilized to perform this function. Thereafter, the upper binding 14 is stitched around the upper periphery of the lamp shade.

Thus, it will be seen that the lamp shade 10 is only two layers of fabric while at the same time having fabric on the inner and outer surfaces. Excluding the bindings which are optional, only three seams were needed to form the lamp shade as opposed to six seams on a conventional lamp shade, while at the same time only utilizing two cutting operations instead of four. This results in a substantial saving of labor and time. The entire lamp shade 10 is made using commercially available and conventional machinery available to those skilled in the art. Thus, no specialized equipment is needed to make the lamp shade 10.

The application of the bindings 14 and 16 to the layers of fabric 18 and 20 may be by sewing as described above or by use of conventional adhesive. When sewing is used, binding 14 is sewn to both layers of fabric and to the fabric sleeve 29 around ring 30. Likewise, binding 16 is sewn to both layers of fabric and the fabric sleeve 36 aroundring 32.

As pointed out above, the tapering of the layers 18 and 20 matches the shape of the frame. By way of example, assume a frame has a ring 32 whose ID is 1 1% inches and a ring 30 whose ID is 9% inches. Then, the tube diameter at midportion 26 will be 2 inches less than the diameter at the ends of the tube. In order to facilitate the sewing of seams 22 and 24, one of the layers of fabric 18 and 20 may be premarked using a pattern to indicate lines along which sewing is to occur. Any such premarking should be done with a watersoluble solution or should be applied so as to be physically located on the scrap which is cut off along seams 22 and 24.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A lamp shade comprising a metal frame having first and second rings interconnected by ribs, said second ring having a covering, said rings being concentric with one another, first and second layers of fabric, said first layer of fabric having its ends sewn together and to said covering at a seam adjacent the second ring and with the second ring covering being between the inner and outer portions of said first layer of fabric, said first layer of fabric having its inner portion extending from said seam along the inside of the frame and over the first ring to the outer portion of said first layer of fabric which extends to said seam, said second layer of fabric having its ends sewn together and to said covering at a seam adjacent the second ring and with the second ring being between the inner and outer portions of said second layer of fabric, said second layer of fabric having its inner portion extending from said last-mentioned seam along the inside of the frame and over the first ring to the outer portion of said second layer of fabric which extends to said last-mentioned seam, a first seam joining adjacent side edges of said first and second layers of fabric, a second seam joining adjacent side edges of said first and second layers diametrically opposite said first seam, said first and second layers of fabric being joined to each other only along said first and second seams, and a spider support connected to said first ring.

2. A lamp shade in accordance with claim 1 including a binding sewn to said first and second layers of fabric adjacent said second ring and to a covering on said second ring, and a binding sewn to said first and second layers adjacent said first ring.

3. A lamp shade in accordance with claim 1 wherein said spider support has legs connected to said first ring, said first ring having holes therethrough corresponding in number to the number of spider legs, each spider leg having an offset portion defining a shoulder thereon same. 

1. A lamp shade comprising a metal frame having first and second rings interconnected by ribs, said second ring having a covering, said rings being concentric with one another, first and second layers of fabric, said first layer of fabric having its ends sewn together and to said covering at a seam adjacent the second ring and with the second ring covering being between the inner and outer portions of said first layer of fabric, said first layer of fabric having its inner portion extending from said seam along the inside of the frame and over the first ring to the outer portion of said first layer of fabric which extends to said seam, said second layer of fabric having its ends sewn together and to said covering at a seam adjacent the second ring and with the second ring being between the inner and outer portions of said second layer of fabric, said second layer of fabric having its inner portion extending from said last-mentioned seam along the inside of the frame and over the first ring to the outer portion of said second layer of fabric which extends to said lastmentioned seam, a first seam joining adjacent side edges of said first and second layers of fabric, a second seam joining adjacent side edges of said first and second layers diametrically opposite said first seam, said first and second layers of fabric being joined to each other only along said first and second seams, and a spider support connected to said first ring.
 2. A lamp shade in accordance with claim 1 including a binding sewn to said first and second layers of fabric adjacent said second ring and to a covering on said second ring, and a binding sewn to said first and second layers adjacent said first ring.
 3. A lamp shade in accordance with claim 1 wherein said spider support has legs connected to said first ring, said first ring having holes therethrough corresponding in number to the number of spider legs, each spider leg having an offset portion defining a shoulder thereon spaced from a free end, a spider leg offset portion extending through one of said holes, and a binding attached to said first and second layers around said first ring, said binding being of sufficient width so as to overlie the free ends of said spider legs and conceal the same. 